Hey all! I am having surgery in 3 days and so excited... My biggest concern is the loose skin! I am wondering did anyone wear compression garments? Which ones did you wear and how soon can you wear them?!!?!?

I'm 8 weeks out and wear them, but honestly they feel like they are going to kill me sometimes. I have NEVER gone without one (even when I was pregnant) and didn't plan on it now, so I suck it up and take it. I absolutely, positively cannot eat while I have them on though. I feel like I am going to explode. I wear the really firm ones though. I think I am going to get me something with a little more give to it. I truly felt like I was trapped in an Iron Maiden today..Ouch!

I am trying the tummy tuck garment. I just got it. it came with cream that you put on your tummy and then you put on the compression sleeve. Then you are supposed to do 2 minutes of tightening exercise with it on, and then wear it for 10 more minutes. I can say that I do feel it warming my stomach when I use it....it is supposed to tighten your stomach muscles and burn belly fat 4 times faster. I dont know if it really works or not, but I paid 30 bucks for it, and I figure its worth a shot....I have had it for 2 weeks now and I have lost 3 inches off my waist so far. Even if it doesnt burn the fat off faster the garmet does hold in all of my fat pretty well, so I guess I would have paid about 30 bucks for a good compression garmet anyways. I will post more after the 6 weeks is up on whether or not it really works.

Sorry to say but I'm pretty sure the verdict is that it's purely genetics and that there is very little we can do to combat loose skin. Some of us get more of it than others. It seems keeping the skin moisturized helps a bit and that exercise really does work wonders.

I had twins prior to surgery and there was no way I was going to avoid loose skin - I had a bunch of it before surgery and it's even worse now. I started wearing shapewear full time (except in my PJs!) when I was down about forty pounds and noticed that my apron flopped when I did jumping jacks.

Well, I won't lie - sometimes I still hate the loose skin. But I can hide the skin with undergarments and I couldn't hide being fat. I'd rather wear shapewear every day for the rest of my life than weigh more than 200 pounds again!

I will get plastics eventually but in the meantime I use some heavy duty shapewear - Spanx do not cut it for me. I use an extra-firm waist cincher by Rago Shapewear in conjunction with a longline bra and it works wonders. If I'm wearing a skirt or a dress I use a high-waisted open bottom girdle, usually something sexy from What Katie Did.

I find that since I need super-duper shaping and I have a natural hourglass figure that I'm happiest using things that are old-fashioned 40s and 50s style undergarments. They're beautiful, sexy AND functional. They cost a pretty penny but work miracles.

Spanx do not work as well for me. I do like the toning camisoles from Maidenform (Fat Free Dressing or Flexees) for layering, however. They have a nice long line and work better at taming my tummy than other brands. I wear them over my waspie or waist cincher, though.

~Cheri